


Brothers By His Side

by LivingDeadLad



Category: Campaign (Podcast), Campaign Star Wars, Campaign: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Cameo from Rex and the old clone squad, Character Death, Drabble, Gen, clone feels, clones die young
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:41:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24987718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LivingDeadLad/pseuds/LivingDeadLad
Summary: Rapid aging finally catches up to Bacta. His family gathers round him one last time.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	Brothers By His Side

**Author's Note:**

> An old work written for the now-defunct Panini Press group chat on twitter. I dug this up because I was feeling nostalgic for fandom friends who had drifted apart. Not up to my current standards, but I wanted to share it anyway.

The Mynock docked on the rebel base. There was no banter, no mission briefing. They had no procedure for what was going to happen.

Bacta must have known it was coming, but he’d been too determined to squeeze in every last bit of living to let on. They knew something wrong when he tore up the notes on his clipboard and told Tryst to plug in the coordinates for Bestine, the ocean planet they’d vacationed on years before with Nemo and Lyn. They built a beach fire and camped out. They went to tiki bars at night and shouted a barrage of conflicting advice at Tamlin, egging him on as he tried and failed to flirt.

On the fourth day, they found Bacta asleep on the couch. Had they ever seen him sleep before? Tamlin sensed it before he saw his uncle’s sallow skin and faint breathing. Bacta was dying.

There were no plans, no clipboard of instructions. It was Leenik who suggested it first, but they all agreed; Bacta would want to be with brothers.

Rex, Wolfe and Gregor met them at the hangar with a repulsor gurney. Tryst and Tamlin laid Bacta on it, and Leenik arranged the pillows and blankets nervously. The Clones guided the gurney into the medbay, looking too much like pallbearers..

Tryst hated times like this. It was enough to remind him of how glad he was that he’d been away when his father had reached the end. What were you supposed to do when these things happened?

He went back to the ship and returned with several bottles of wine. He poured them each a glass. Then he started telling stories and Tamlin was glad someone filled the silence. He added his own stories, remembering Bacta’s lectures and lessons and the heart attacks he gave the man who was as good as the only father he’d ever known.

The door opened and Rex entered the makeshift waiting room. The old commander placed his hand on Tamlin’s shoulder. “He’s asking for you, and for his brothers.”

“So go back in there,” said Tryst, angrier than he meant to sound.

“He doesn’t mean us,” said Rex.

“Oh.” Tryst put an arm around Tamlin, as much for his own comfort as his nephew’s. Rex led them in.

Leenik wavered, lingered outside the door. He braced himself, fidgeted with his wig, then took it off and left it in the chair beside his eyepatch. His brother needed someone to hold his hand, and this time, Leenik wouldn’t let go.


End file.
